60 Minutes reporter reveals what it's really like for a female reporter covering a gang war

It’s a stark comparison walking through the quiet suburban streets surrounding Channel 9 in Willoughby to those dubbed ‘Murder Drive’ in Chicago’s notoriously risky neighbourhood, but that’s exactly where Liz Hayes is reporting from this week.

There, the streets are dubbed ‘Chi-raq’ because communities are literally at war. Someone is shot every three hours and every 14 hours someone is murdered. Every block has a different gang, all of whom are armed with guns used for both protection and retribution.

“It was edgy,” says Hayes. “I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I tried to know, I tried to get an understanding but I didn’t really know until I got in there. And I felt really nervous for the first couple of days.”

This week’s 60 Minutes investigation shines a light on the otherwise unimaginable street violence in one of America’s most popular tourist hot-spots. On the city’s south side, which is considered the heart of black America, gang rivalry is tearing its people apart. It has become so brutal that both police and the perpetrators agree this urban warfare is out of control.